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Trix SinClara #1
The House
Shifters are going missing.
Trix has always been part of the very ordered and very rule orientated supernatural community. Secrecy is everything. But life is starting to come apart at the seams, between growing magic and being attacked by vampyre she can't just take the world at face value anymore. Then shifters start to disappear without a trace and Trix is left in charge of the House, where wayward shifters go for comfort and control.
The witches won't help and rules are changing. There is more at stake than any of them realise and the House may just become the centre of the biggest disaster the supernatural community has ever seen. It all seems to be up to them and Trix has more to deal with than she ever thought possible.
Trix has always been part of the very ordered and very rule orientated supernatural community. Secrecy is everything. But life is starting to come apart at the seams, between growing magic and being attacked by vampyre she can't just take the world at face value anymore. Then shifters start to disappear without a trace and Trix is left in charge of the House, where wayward shifters go for comfort and control.
The witches won't help and rules are changing. There is more at stake than any of them realise and the House may just become the centre of the biggest disaster the supernatural community has ever seen. It all seems to be up to them and Trix has more to deal with than she ever thought possible.
417 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 26, 2013
16 people want to read
About the author
Emma Faragher
7Ìýbooks19ÌýfollowersI am currently a student at Sheffield university and I balance my time between studying and writing. I also play the flute and the violin, although time for practice is hard to come by.
I started writing at 16 and never stopped, it keeps me sane. The House is my first published work. Although I'm working on editing my first book The Immortals' Fire to get that published as well.
I started writing at 16 and never stopped, it keeps me sane. The House is my first published work. Although I'm working on editing my first book The Immortals' Fire to get that published as well.
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March 29, 2013This is a message from the author rather than a review with some extra info about the characters and the world I have created.
Trix is a true born shifter, she was born with the ability. He mother was a true born shifter and her father was a witch, this has been the way of true borns for as long as anyone can remember. Both of her parents were killed in front of her by Deacan Mackenzie, the details of which will be told in book 2 "The Solstice". After the deaths of her parents Trix was raised jointed by her grandfather and Marie, as Richard SinClara didn't know enough about shifters and Marie didn't know enough about witches. She spent most of the year at boarding school but split the rest of her time between her two guardians.
At age 14 Trix moved to live full time at the Covenant whilst attending a more specialist school for witches. She began to work for her grandfather in the dungeons where she met Jalas officially, whom Trix believed to be just over 700 years old. Jalas was the court torturer and Trix learnt to use her (then) empathic abilities to encourage prisoners to give up information or to cause pain as part of a punishment. Trix came to trust Jalas implicitly and they started an affair when Trix was 16, much to the chagrin of her grandfather, for whom it was something of an embarrassment.
At 18 Trix left the Covenant and her life there behind. She moved to the House with Marie and started to help out with the shifters who went there. She also helped to run Marie's businesses and filled in for odd jobs when needed. Trix was responsible for Stripes and although Marie did most of the therapy for her, Trix was the one to make Stripes (then Lily) feel at home at the House.
At the start of this book Trix was 22 years old and had been out of contact with anyone from her birth family for 4 years. The witches in general stayed out of shifter business unless it would directly effect them but Trix tried to seek help when Marie as well as several other shifters go missing. This allows her grandfather to attempt to bring her back into the fold but Trix is cautious. She feels that there may be more going on that she can see but there aren't any other options. In the end her grandfather and Jalas use the excuse of questioning the witches of 5 vampyre who attacked Trix to show her friends what she did whilst at the Covenant. Trix never learns the true reason for their doing this but believes it to be a way of distancing her from her friends in an attempt to get her back into the Covenant. Her new telepathy isn't helping either, after a disastrous attempt to use her power to help a friend it starts to go haywire and Trix is in danger of losing control.
WARNING SPOILERS
The man who took Trix's friends turns out to be a shifter working with several vampyre. Meaning that the Covenant had lost tract of several of their vampyre (who are turned by and bound to witches almost to the point of slavery). Killing the renegades however doesn't stop their larger plan. When the residents of the House take home a newly turned teenage shifter they don't realise the danger. They have just lost Marie and the entire community is reeling.
Whilst Trix is at the High Council of witches to answer for her new found telepathic ability, which is normally reason enough to remove a witch of their head, the new shifter sets in motion a series of events that will irrevocably push the supernaturals into the light. Trix is left with a reprieve from the High Council due her accidental pregnancy but her status as a shapeshifter is all over the internet, leaving her to the mercy of the British public.
Book two starts with hearings about the supernaturals, at which Trix is expected to speak, despite being 6 months pregnant.
Trix is a true born shifter, she was born with the ability. He mother was a true born shifter and her father was a witch, this has been the way of true borns for as long as anyone can remember. Both of her parents were killed in front of her by Deacan Mackenzie, the details of which will be told in book 2 "The Solstice". After the deaths of her parents Trix was raised jointed by her grandfather and Marie, as Richard SinClara didn't know enough about shifters and Marie didn't know enough about witches. She spent most of the year at boarding school but split the rest of her time between her two guardians.
At age 14 Trix moved to live full time at the Covenant whilst attending a more specialist school for witches. She began to work for her grandfather in the dungeons where she met Jalas officially, whom Trix believed to be just over 700 years old. Jalas was the court torturer and Trix learnt to use her (then) empathic abilities to encourage prisoners to give up information or to cause pain as part of a punishment. Trix came to trust Jalas implicitly and they started an affair when Trix was 16, much to the chagrin of her grandfather, for whom it was something of an embarrassment.
At 18 Trix left the Covenant and her life there behind. She moved to the House with Marie and started to help out with the shifters who went there. She also helped to run Marie's businesses and filled in for odd jobs when needed. Trix was responsible for Stripes and although Marie did most of the therapy for her, Trix was the one to make Stripes (then Lily) feel at home at the House.
At the start of this book Trix was 22 years old and had been out of contact with anyone from her birth family for 4 years. The witches in general stayed out of shifter business unless it would directly effect them but Trix tried to seek help when Marie as well as several other shifters go missing. This allows her grandfather to attempt to bring her back into the fold but Trix is cautious. She feels that there may be more going on that she can see but there aren't any other options. In the end her grandfather and Jalas use the excuse of questioning the witches of 5 vampyre who attacked Trix to show her friends what she did whilst at the Covenant. Trix never learns the true reason for their doing this but believes it to be a way of distancing her from her friends in an attempt to get her back into the Covenant. Her new telepathy isn't helping either, after a disastrous attempt to use her power to help a friend it starts to go haywire and Trix is in danger of losing control.
WARNING SPOILERS
The man who took Trix's friends turns out to be a shifter working with several vampyre. Meaning that the Covenant had lost tract of several of their vampyre (who are turned by and bound to witches almost to the point of slavery). Killing the renegades however doesn't stop their larger plan. When the residents of the House take home a newly turned teenage shifter they don't realise the danger. They have just lost Marie and the entire community is reeling.
Whilst Trix is at the High Council of witches to answer for her new found telepathic ability, which is normally reason enough to remove a witch of their head, the new shifter sets in motion a series of events that will irrevocably push the supernaturals into the light. Trix is left with a reprieve from the High Council due her accidental pregnancy but her status as a shapeshifter is all over the internet, leaving her to the mercy of the British public.
Book two starts with hearings about the supernaturals, at which Trix is expected to speak, despite being 6 months pregnant.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2013
'Then I caught a sense of it, like a taste in the back of my mouth. Magic,they weren't just guys looking for trouble. They were Vampyre with trouble written all over them. And there were two more, less than a metre and a half away.'
MY OPINION
I was given a free ebook copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed the story, I thought that it was an interesting take on the Supernatural creatures that feature so often in stories. The Author has created an interesting World for her characters. They live in a time when the World has run out of fuel, cars are a thing of the past, and people travel around in electronically powered pods. I thought this was interesting, since it appears to be set in the not so distant future. It's a very modern setting, but with old fashioned ideas, like Vampyres, Witches, and Shapeshifters. I think that it's the mix of old and new that I enjoyed so much about the story, I felt that it was very unique.
I really felt for Trix at times. She has so much to worry about, with her growing powers, her family being in danger, not to mention trying to take care of the runaways that come to The House for help. It appears that whenever things start to improve for her,she's dealt another blow, and this really strengthened her as a character. At times, she feels that it's all too much, and wishes that the responsibility hadn't fallen on her shoulders. Despite that though, she stays strong, with the support of her friends and family around her, and I really liked that about her. What I found most interesting about her, was the fact that she was still a normal young Woman. She loves buying new clothes, and in her own words, her bank balance can attest to that. This made me able to connect with her even more, since most young women love to buy new clothes.
The only bad point I really have about this book, is the amount of spelling and grammar mistakes. At times, some sentences didn't make sense, because they had the wrong words in them, or they needed some punctuation to break them up. This did hinder me slightly when reading, it took me quite a while to read, since it was fairly difficult to get into in parts. However, the Author is currently in the process of correcting the mistakes, so don't let that put you off. I almost gave the book three stars due to the mistakes, but, I really enjoyed the story, and feel that it deserved the 4 stars I gave it.
THE AUTHOR
This book was written by and it's the first book of the Trix SinClara series. Emma is a Student at University who writes in her spare time, and judging by this book, she's definitely going to one to look out for in bookshops in the near future. I'm looking forward to Emma releasing the second in the series, as I grew quite attached to Trix. This book is available on Amazon as a Kindle Edition for £2.58, and it also available from Smashwords in different ebook formats.
MY OPINION
I was given a free ebook copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed the story, I thought that it was an interesting take on the Supernatural creatures that feature so often in stories. The Author has created an interesting World for her characters. They live in a time when the World has run out of fuel, cars are a thing of the past, and people travel around in electronically powered pods. I thought this was interesting, since it appears to be set in the not so distant future. It's a very modern setting, but with old fashioned ideas, like Vampyres, Witches, and Shapeshifters. I think that it's the mix of old and new that I enjoyed so much about the story, I felt that it was very unique.
I really felt for Trix at times. She has so much to worry about, with her growing powers, her family being in danger, not to mention trying to take care of the runaways that come to The House for help. It appears that whenever things start to improve for her,she's dealt another blow, and this really strengthened her as a character. At times, she feels that it's all too much, and wishes that the responsibility hadn't fallen on her shoulders. Despite that though, she stays strong, with the support of her friends and family around her, and I really liked that about her. What I found most interesting about her, was the fact that she was still a normal young Woman. She loves buying new clothes, and in her own words, her bank balance can attest to that. This made me able to connect with her even more, since most young women love to buy new clothes.
The only bad point I really have about this book, is the amount of spelling and grammar mistakes. At times, some sentences didn't make sense, because they had the wrong words in them, or they needed some punctuation to break them up. This did hinder me slightly when reading, it took me quite a while to read, since it was fairly difficult to get into in parts. However, the Author is currently in the process of correcting the mistakes, so don't let that put you off. I almost gave the book three stars due to the mistakes, but, I really enjoyed the story, and feel that it deserved the 4 stars I gave it.
THE AUTHOR
This book was written by and it's the first book of the Trix SinClara series. Emma is a Student at University who writes in her spare time, and judging by this book, she's definitely going to one to look out for in bookshops in the near future. I'm looking forward to Emma releasing the second in the series, as I grew quite attached to Trix. This book is available on Amazon as a Kindle Edition for £2.58, and it also available from Smashwords in different ebook formats.
June 21, 2013
I read The House by Emma Faragher which was an amazing book to read. I am in love with supernatural books and this one brought not only one supernatural into the book but several. We learned more about Shifters, Vampires, Witches and throw in some of those with telepathic, super-healing and other abilities and you've got a book that with each turn of the page you learn something new about these beings. Emma wrote this book and involved so many characters and you truly get to know each one through Trix's eyes. I loved that it's based in the future and the play on so many current trends either going wrong or still working out in the future was a fun aspect of the book I enjoyed.
We really get to go through Trix journey as she sees her powers growing stronger, one of my favorite parts of the book was in Chapter 6...
"I felt him, I could feel his mind, everything that made him himself. In that moment I could of taken it all, every memory, every thought and every feeling he had ever had. I could have left him a vegetable, I could have filled his head with whatever I wanted. Instead, I put him to sleep....
He was my friend and I wanted it to stay that way. If I was honest I'd actually scared myself, I wasn't entirely sure I should have been able to do that."
I will definitely be a devoted reader to this series and more books by Emma Faragher I loved her writing style, the details, the plot, the action, a little romance and the mystery of the book and what's to come. I loved the subtle cliffhanger we were left with and can't wait for more of The Trix SinClara Series.
I received this book for an honest review.
We really get to go through Trix journey as she sees her powers growing stronger, one of my favorite parts of the book was in Chapter 6...
"I felt him, I could feel his mind, everything that made him himself. In that moment I could of taken it all, every memory, every thought and every feeling he had ever had. I could have left him a vegetable, I could have filled his head with whatever I wanted. Instead, I put him to sleep....
He was my friend and I wanted it to stay that way. If I was honest I'd actually scared myself, I wasn't entirely sure I should have been able to do that."
I will definitely be a devoted reader to this series and more books by Emma Faragher I loved her writing style, the details, the plot, the action, a little romance and the mystery of the book and what's to come. I loved the subtle cliffhanger we were left with and can't wait for more of The Trix SinClara Series.
I received this book for an honest review.
July 12, 2013
At first I wanted to give the book 3stars, due to the fact I was having a hard time getting into the story but with me I cant leave a book UN-finished so I kept reading it and it was good. Trix the main character is really strong no matter what was thrown at her I think I liked that the best. It was all in out a good book once I got passed the misspelled words and to much grammar in some spots I actually caught myself wanting to see what happens now in the shifter world, how far did Trix get in her pregnancy and if her and Eddie make something more of their relationship. I can't wait to read the next one!!
July 7, 2013
In The House, Beatrice "Trix" SinClara investigates disappearing shifters and learns to copes with her changing abilities and responsibilities.
Aside from some typos and grammatical errors, the story flows well with a crisp and lively pace.
The characters are, with a couple exceptions, individualistic and realistic.
For the most part, the author does manage to connect the events in the story well though perhaps a bit contrived. However, as with life, not everything is explained. I still have questions.
Overall, an enjoyable read!
Aside from some typos and grammatical errors, the story flows well with a crisp and lively pace.
The characters are, with a couple exceptions, individualistic and realistic.
For the most part, the author does manage to connect the events in the story well though perhaps a bit contrived. However, as with life, not everything is explained. I still have questions.
Overall, an enjoyable read!
September 10, 2016
The House was provided to me free of charge by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I have a confession to make. I did not think that I was going to finish this read at first. I really struggled to get into the story at first because Emma spends quite a few chapters truly building the characters and the world. It was a bit long for me but I can see how it helped connect the reader to Trix just that much more. Once I was able get past this the book became very exciting and enjoyable. I laughed, cried, screamed and cheered throughout the book and that is a great recipe for an enjoyable read.
Emma did a fantastic job creating a believable, lovable character in Trix. She goes through so much that its hard not to feel for her. First attacked by Vampires and rescued by a hunter she runs home to warn others. She has this bad feeling in her gut and just cant shake it. Going to her grandfather who is a witch we learn about her past and her other magical power that is growing into something she just may not be able to control. There is so much to Trix that makes it worthwhile to learn about her. She is compassionate and as you read through the book you go on this lovely journey with her as she goes from being a little selfish, even self centered to being the loving and caring foster like mother of the house despite all that she has lost. Emma’s writing is so great that I was shocked how easy it was for me to believe that Trix had become this loving mother for the rest of the shifters. It seemed so natural.
Some reviewers have commented that the story really begins about 65% of the way into the book. I am on the fence about this. I think that there is so much going on in the book that it can be very overwhelming if you like your traditional story line. Emma did something wonderful with her book. She wrote it in a way that almost seems like a reader would write their favorite story. She gives you the history of the character, several small struggles and then a larger scale one with the main character falling into a pit of despair that she can rise up from. Emma gives you the resolution and then continues on with exciting news and a whammy of an ending leading you wanting more just when you thought everything was over. True it starts to get exciting around, I say, 55% into the story because the action starts but while you are reading the first half you have so many questions and Emma keeps you guessing on how everything is connected. This pulls you into the story and brings you back even if you put it down.
While the beginning was a little slow Emma’s writing beckons you further into the story with the promise that its all worth it. And it is so worth it. I would definitely reread this book and I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys delving into the world an author creates and spending a little time in it. It was very satisfying read and I cannot say enough about how rewarding it is to hang in there for the second half. I gave The House four out of five stars because of the issues with the beginning and the wonderful turnaround
* Please note that I have taken on a policy that when there are minor grammar, spelling and editing issues I put them to the side and focus on the story. There have been mention of some of this issues in this book but I didn't even notice them.
Happy reading!!
Find this and other reviews on my
I have a confession to make. I did not think that I was going to finish this read at first. I really struggled to get into the story at first because Emma spends quite a few chapters truly building the characters and the world. It was a bit long for me but I can see how it helped connect the reader to Trix just that much more. Once I was able get past this the book became very exciting and enjoyable. I laughed, cried, screamed and cheered throughout the book and that is a great recipe for an enjoyable read.
Emma did a fantastic job creating a believable, lovable character in Trix. She goes through so much that its hard not to feel for her. First attacked by Vampires and rescued by a hunter she runs home to warn others. She has this bad feeling in her gut and just cant shake it. Going to her grandfather who is a witch we learn about her past and her other magical power that is growing into something she just may not be able to control. There is so much to Trix that makes it worthwhile to learn about her. She is compassionate and as you read through the book you go on this lovely journey with her as she goes from being a little selfish, even self centered to being the loving and caring foster like mother of the house despite all that she has lost. Emma’s writing is so great that I was shocked how easy it was for me to believe that Trix had become this loving mother for the rest of the shifters. It seemed so natural.
Some reviewers have commented that the story really begins about 65% of the way into the book. I am on the fence about this. I think that there is so much going on in the book that it can be very overwhelming if you like your traditional story line. Emma did something wonderful with her book. She wrote it in a way that almost seems like a reader would write their favorite story. She gives you the history of the character, several small struggles and then a larger scale one with the main character falling into a pit of despair that she can rise up from. Emma gives you the resolution and then continues on with exciting news and a whammy of an ending leading you wanting more just when you thought everything was over. True it starts to get exciting around, I say, 55% into the story because the action starts but while you are reading the first half you have so many questions and Emma keeps you guessing on how everything is connected. This pulls you into the story and brings you back even if you put it down.
While the beginning was a little slow Emma’s writing beckons you further into the story with the promise that its all worth it. And it is so worth it. I would definitely reread this book and I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys delving into the world an author creates and spending a little time in it. It was very satisfying read and I cannot say enough about how rewarding it is to hang in there for the second half. I gave The House four out of five stars because of the issues with the beginning and the wonderful turnaround
* Please note that I have taken on a policy that when there are minor grammar, spelling and editing issues I put them to the side and focus on the story. There have been mention of some of this issues in this book but I didn't even notice them.
Happy reading!!
Find this and other reviews on my
June 24, 2013
Favorite Line “You did well, I trust you won’t be judging any more books by their covers.�
Wow pre paid pods!! I love shifter stories but, this one had a little extra it's from the future. Where you can have a pre-paid pod, my understanding is its a pod that is sorta like a little car. It's amazing! There are shifters in here of all sorts including a BALD EAGLE! Sorry got a little excited.
Trix is a true born shifter who lives in the house with Stripes, James, Marie, Hercules,a me not Eddie. They have become there own little family, a family the helps each other, holds each other when needed, and most importantly the will always be there for when another shifter meds there help.
So when there good friend Shayana goes missing, what can Trix do but,go to see her grandfather. Who lives at the Covenant which is someplace she never wanted to go back to but, will do itto find her friend! Sad to say that's just the beginning of trouble for this pack. (I think of them as a pack who would support each other through anything) Marie who is basically mom to all of them and Stripes who is is part if the pack also go missing.
Man I loved these characters they were amazing, caring, passionate, and stick together and protect what's theirs! I love it!!
I really enjoyed how the author described the future and how many changes have come about! I loved hearing things like when streets still had roads and foot paths!
It's a book you can't put done from page one!!
Just a great read!!
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review
FIVE POWERFUL SHIFTER FAIRIES
April 21, 2014
'The House' is the story of telepathic shifter Trix as she helps keep her people safe from vampire threats and keep their abilities hidden from humans.
The story gets off to a fairly slow start while Faragher introduces various characters and the world she has created is unveiled piece by piece. The supernatural side of things was different and I enjoyed learning about shifters and the problems they face. Trix was an interesting character, flawed and believable. The others were likeable in their different ways but I probably liked Stripes the most.
Towards the end of the book it felt as if the world and characters had been properly introduced and it was now time for the story to really begin. A couple of very interesting developments ensured that I'm going to have to read the next book to find out what happens - I just hope it will be coming out soon!
Overall this is a fantastic start to a different and intriguing series. The ending was brilliant. Can't wait for the next part. Recommended to urban fantasy fans!
The story gets off to a fairly slow start while Faragher introduces various characters and the world she has created is unveiled piece by piece. The supernatural side of things was different and I enjoyed learning about shifters and the problems they face. Trix was an interesting character, flawed and believable. The others were likeable in their different ways but I probably liked Stripes the most.
Towards the end of the book it felt as if the world and characters had been properly introduced and it was now time for the story to really begin. A couple of very interesting developments ensured that I'm going to have to read the next book to find out what happens - I just hope it will be coming out soon!
Overall this is a fantastic start to a different and intriguing series. The ending was brilliant. Can't wait for the next part. Recommended to urban fantasy fans!
June 30, 2013
On a positive note, the overall story and plot was enjoyable. I found myself thinking about different parts throughout the day and looking forward to reading more.
However, it was difficult to immerse myself into the story because of the typos/errors in spelling and grammar. Some other issues included unnecessary details, repetition, contradictions, weird sentence construction, and “jumps� from one topic to another without any connection in between. I also thought Trix's character was inconsistent which led to confusion at times.
The book starts to take off about 65% into it (when Trix and her shifter buddies find out where the missing shifters are being kept and set out to rescue them). After that, there’s a lot more action.
This book could have been much better, possibly even earning 4.5 out of 5 stars, if only it went through a few more rounds of revisions. I'm giving it a 3 for now because I think Faragher has a good story here, she just needs to fix the errors.
However, it was difficult to immerse myself into the story because of the typos/errors in spelling and grammar. Some other issues included unnecessary details, repetition, contradictions, weird sentence construction, and “jumps� from one topic to another without any connection in between. I also thought Trix's character was inconsistent which led to confusion at times.
The book starts to take off about 65% into it (when Trix and her shifter buddies find out where the missing shifters are being kept and set out to rescue them). After that, there’s a lot more action.
This book could have been much better, possibly even earning 4.5 out of 5 stars, if only it went through a few more rounds of revisions. I'm giving it a 3 for now because I think Faragher has a good story here, she just needs to fix the errors.
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